For Mona Leandro, 50, and Heather Smith, 45, a "best friends' day" on Saturday included a trip down a 1,000-foot slip and slide.

Smith said she came for a chance "to be a kid again."

Leandro said the slip and slide was "awesome," but she wished it could have been even longer. She liked that there were food trucks and people sitting in the nearby grass, making it "a nice family event."

"I missed it last year, and I refused to miss it this year," Leandro said.

For the second year in a row, Slide the City came to Colorado Springs, blocking off part of 21st Street at Lower Gold Camp Road for the hourslong event.

Brandon Jay, Slide the City's "director of wet and wild times" said at midday that he expected less tickets to be sold this year. He estimated just over 3,000, with about 1,800 pre-sold. There were about 4,600 sold last year, according to The Gazette's coverage.

But Jay said he loves bringing the Utah-based company's slide to Colorado, and he attributed the decrease in attendance in part to the weather leading up to the event.

"This is amazing - the last three years, I've done an average of 13, 14 events per year, and this is my favorite hill nationwide," Jay said.

Slide the City coordinates with residents and businesses that might lose customers because of the event, Jay said.

In addition to obtaining permits from Colorado Springs and El Paso County, Slide the City donated to Bear Creek Dog Park, because the slide blocked one of the park's entrances, causing it to close for the day.

Slide the City also partners with nonprofits, and in Colorado Springs, it has worked with UpaDowna. The nonprofit brought about 60 volunteers to help run this year's event, and in turn will receive a portion of the proceeds, said Randi Hitchcock, UpaDowna's chief operating officer.

Throughout the event, which lasted from noon until 7 p.m., participants documented the experience on cameras and smartphones.

Halle Andrews, 13, recorded her trip down the slip and slide on her GoPro, which was in a waterproof case.

"I was just excited - I wanted to see what it was like going down, and the different perspective," she said.

Talking about the slide just after sailing down it on an inner tube, she tripped over her words in excitement.

"I liked it. We weren't going too fast, (but) you flipped over at certain points, and it was super fun."

Tags

Ellie is a crime and breaking news reporter. She's a proud Midwesterner, stationery hoarder and Earl Grey tea enthusiast. After interning at The Gazette in 2015, she joined the newspaper's staff in 2016.

Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.